Georgetown, Guyana – On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force announced that two suspects, a former police officer and a sitting magistrates’ court legal clerk, have been formally slapped with a string of financial offences tied to the forgery and successful cashing of a GY$17 million fraudulent cheque linked to a local court’s maintenance budget. The pair have been granted combined bail totalling GY$900,000 as their respective court proceedings get underway.
The fraudulent funds were falsely framed as payment for uncompleted rehabilitation work at the Diamond/Golden Grove magistrates’ court, located along the East Bank of the Demerara River. The two accused have been identified as 27-year-old Omari James, a former police officer now working as a labourer and residing at Lot 1562, Farm Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, and Rocquel Charter, a Grade 2 Legal Clerk formally assigned to the Diamond/Golden Grove magistrates’ court.
According to SOCU’s investigation findings, on August 20, 2025, James walked into the Camp Street branch of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited and submitted a GY$17 million cheque purportedly drawn from the Diamond/Golden Grove magistrates’ court’s dedicated maintenance account. He also presented an accompanying official letter that claimed to be issued and signed by the sitting court clerk, and walked away with the full GY$17 million sum in cash. Subsequent forensic reviews confirmed that both the signature on the cheque and the purported official authorisation letter were entirely forged.
Further evidence gathered by the financial crime unit alleges that over the three-day window between August 18 and 20, 2025, Charter herself forged a Bank of Guyana cheque for the exact GY$17 million amount, drawn on her court’s maintenance account and made payable directly to James, by falsely replicating the signature of the court’s top clerk – the only authorised signatory for the public fund account. She is also accused of creating the fake authorisation letter that James used to legitimise the transaction at the bank.
James made his first court appearance on Monday, October 26, 2026, before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore, where he entered a formal not guilty plea to two counts: money laundering, and uttering a forged document with intent to defraud. Prosecutors from SOCU strongly opposed bail for James, highlighting the severe gravity of the alleged offences, the exceptionally large sum of public funds involved, and the lengthy custodial penalties mandated under Guyana’s financial crime laws. Despite the prosecution’s objections, the court approved GY$400,000 bail for James across both charges, and the case has been adjourned to November 16, 2026, when the prosecution will be required to disclose all its collected evidence to the defence.
Charter appeared in the dock the following day, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at Court No. 1 of the Diamond magistrates’ court before Magistrate Wanda Fortune, facing two separate charges: forgery of a negotiable instrument, and forgery of an official document with intent to defraud. She also entered a full not guilty plea to both counts. Her legal representative, Attorney-at-Law Ronald Daniels, submitted a formal bail application, which was contested by SOCU Prosecutor Darin Chan, who cited the serious nature of the alleged offences, the heavy statutory penalties that would apply if Charter is convicted, and the breach of public trust inherent in a court official forging official judicial documents to siphon public funds. The court ultimately granted Charter GY$500,000 bail, with a set of additional supervisory conditions attached. Her case has been scheduled for adjournment to November 30, 2026, to allow for full prosecution evidence disclosure.
In an official public statement released alongside the court updates, SOCU reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to rigorously investigate, prosecute and deter money laundering, large-scale fraud and all forms of financial criminality, noting that the unit will continue to prioritise ensuring every individual accused of misappropriating public funds is held accountable before the Guyanese judicial system in strict adherence to national laws.